Many of Sacramento's service workers have gone over a decade without a raise, and this year has been no different.
Amanda Teotorovich, along with her coworkers with Metrolink janitorial service for the Cal/EPA building in downtown Sacramento, said that they have tried to live and maintain the same lifestyle outside of work, but have been met with many obstacles.
“I’ve worked as a janitor for 16 years,” said Teotorovich. “They pay me $10.20 an hour…and it’s a little amount to support four children along with my mother.”
Rolling her eyes and taking a deep breath at the thought of all her expenses, Teotorovich recounts all the bills that must be maintained on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis.
“We are homeowners, our interest rates have gone up, our kids have grown up and are asking for help in paying for necessary items,” said Teotorovich. “too many expenses.”
Down the street, employees at the Fog Mountain Café have been suffering the blow of less business, which to them equals fewer tips.
“[Customers] are going for the cheaper meals, especially at breakfast.” said Amanda Hopper, a waitress for the Fog Mountain Café.
Hopper said customers are steering away from big meals and instead ordering sides like toast or scrambled eggs.
“That decreases all of our tips, because if you don’t spend as much, you don’t need to give your server as much [for a tip],” said Hopper.
However, there are a few in the service industry that, like Adrianna Becerra, live alone and have been getting by a little bit better than others. Living in a one-bedroom apartment, she is still comfortably paying rent, bills, and groceries.
“I work 40 hours a week, and I’ve been living fine, thanks to God,” said Becerra, who works with Teotorovich as a janitor for MetroLink.
“I just have my dog, and dogs don’t eat a lot, you know?” said Becerra, making light of the situation.
Overall, the fact is that in the world of an every-day service worker, the only amount of money not going up is the salary.
“I’m doing OK,” said Becerra, “but we could all be doing better if they’d raise our salaries.”
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Sac State radio up for award
Sac State’s student-run radio station KSSU.com received a nomination for Best College Radio Station by MTVU on Monday September 22, 2008.
One of five nominees in the Best College Radio category, this is KSSU.com’s first nomination for a “Woodie,” which is given out November 11th at an awards show by MTVU in New York City.
The MTVU Woodie Awards is an awards show that recognizes up-and-coming artists and music relating to the college scene.
Trina Belasario, the station’s webmaster, said the excitement of a nomination from MTVU is a big honor, and is being celebrated among the DJs and staff with KSSU.com.
“It means a lot to the station,” said Belasario. “Just to see where the station has come thus far; MTVU is a big label (to be recognized by) – it’s pretty big for us too!”
Starting out as a small, 3,000-watt AM frequency, KSSU has grown from a weak AM signal to a 24/7 live stream at KSSU.com, for which the station is now better known.
The category for Best College Radio is set up in an “elimination-style” voting, where every few weeks, the Best College Radio nominee with the lowest votes will be nixed from the running.
“We’re in like a quarter-final group,” explains Mike Archibald, KSSU.com’s assistant promotions director. “and I’ve been voting all day; that’s been my only job today.”
Anyone can vote for KSSU.com on their computer for an infinite number of times by logging on to
www.woodies.mtvu.com/nominee/college_radio .
The first-round elimination for Best College Radio Station will happen September 29, with the MTVU Woodie Awards happening November 11 in New York City.
More information can be found by logging on to KSSU.com.
One of five nominees in the Best College Radio category, this is KSSU.com’s first nomination for a “Woodie,” which is given out November 11th at an awards show by MTVU in New York City.
The MTVU Woodie Awards is an awards show that recognizes up-and-coming artists and music relating to the college scene.
Trina Belasario, the station’s webmaster, said the excitement of a nomination from MTVU is a big honor, and is being celebrated among the DJs and staff with KSSU.com.
“It means a lot to the station,” said Belasario. “Just to see where the station has come thus far; MTVU is a big label (to be recognized by) – it’s pretty big for us too!”
Starting out as a small, 3,000-watt AM frequency, KSSU has grown from a weak AM signal to a 24/7 live stream at KSSU.com, for which the station is now better known.
The category for Best College Radio is set up in an “elimination-style” voting, where every few weeks, the Best College Radio nominee with the lowest votes will be nixed from the running.
“We’re in like a quarter-final group,” explains Mike Archibald, KSSU.com’s assistant promotions director. “and I’ve been voting all day; that’s been my only job today.”
Anyone can vote for KSSU.com on their computer for an infinite number of times by logging on to
www.woodies.mtvu.com/nominee/college_radio .
The first-round elimination for Best College Radio Station will happen September 29, with the MTVU Woodie Awards happening November 11 in New York City.
More information can be found by logging on to KSSU.com.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Mustangs start season with win
The Argonaut Mustangs football team kicked off its first game of the season with a win against the Bear Creek Bruins on Saturday.
The season opener marked the first of 10 games for the Mustangs and drew a big crowd of fans from all over the community.
In the past, Argonaut’s football program has made history thanks to its coaches, trainers, and players.
“We have a great program with great kids,” said assistant coach Keith Davis.
“We have a lot of key positions and we’re going to go all the way.”
Leading the crowd in spirit and pep is the cheerleading squad, and all eight of its members have been working just as intensely as the football players during the summer to ensure the crowd gets a dose of entertainment on and off the field.
“We have had a lot of extra practices,” said Ariella Dreskler, who is the cheer squad’s captain this year.
Because of the small number of cheerleaders, they’ve been creating additional ways to ensure they stay on point and keep the crowd engaged for the upcoming year.
“We’ve added Thursday and Saturday practices,” Said Dreskler. “and we’re a small squad, but we’ve been practicing to make sure we are sharp, we smile, and we stay loud.”
In what turned out to be a long game, the Argonaut Mustangs beat the Bear Creek Bruins 41-8 in a three hour game.
For continuous weekly updates of the Mustang’s standings, go to
www.ledger-dispatch.com
- doble frijol
The season opener marked the first of 10 games for the Mustangs and drew a big crowd of fans from all over the community.
In the past, Argonaut’s football program has made history thanks to its coaches, trainers, and players.
“We have a great program with great kids,” said assistant coach Keith Davis.
“We have a lot of key positions and we’re going to go all the way.”
Leading the crowd in spirit and pep is the cheerleading squad, and all eight of its members have been working just as intensely as the football players during the summer to ensure the crowd gets a dose of entertainment on and off the field.
“We have had a lot of extra practices,” said Ariella Dreskler, who is the cheer squad’s captain this year.
Because of the small number of cheerleaders, they’ve been creating additional ways to ensure they stay on point and keep the crowd engaged for the upcoming year.
“We’ve added Thursday and Saturday practices,” Said Dreskler. “and we’re a small squad, but we’ve been practicing to make sure we are sharp, we smile, and we stay loud.”
In what turned out to be a long game, the Argonaut Mustangs beat the Bear Creek Bruins 41-8 in a three hour game.
For continuous weekly updates of the Mustang’s standings, go to
www.ledger-dispatch.com
- doble frijol
Monday, September 8, 2008
Cyclist Challenges Bus, Driver
A verbal altercation involving a cyclist and a Regional Transit bus driver at occurred Monday at Sac State University.
A Regional Transit route 30 bus was heading from down town J Street to the CSUS campus when an unidentified cyclist pulled up alongside the bus at a red light on J & 49th.
According to passenger Allison Hertz, the cyclist was angry about the bus driver's maneuvering and felt that he needed to confront the driver directly.
"The guy on the bicycle came up (to the bus) and hit the drivers window, and then proceeded to cut in and out in front of the bus," said Hertz.
When the driver docked the bus at Sac State, the cyclist was already at the bus curb waiting to exchange words with the driver.
After a 15-seconds of yelling at each other, the cyclist left the scene and was heard yelling "I'm going to have your job," in front of dozens of passengers and bystanders.
For many, this was the first altercation involving a Regional Transit driver of the semester, but for Hertz, it was the first she had ever witnessed.
"I can honestly say that I have never seen that in all my times riding the bus."
Sacramento Regional Transit could not be reached for comment at the publication of this blog.
- doble frijol
A Regional Transit route 30 bus was heading from down town J Street to the CSUS campus when an unidentified cyclist pulled up alongside the bus at a red light on J & 49th.
According to passenger Allison Hertz, the cyclist was angry about the bus driver's maneuvering and felt that he needed to confront the driver directly.
"The guy on the bicycle came up (to the bus) and hit the drivers window, and then proceeded to cut in and out in front of the bus," said Hertz.
When the driver docked the bus at Sac State, the cyclist was already at the bus curb waiting to exchange words with the driver.
After a 15-seconds of yelling at each other, the cyclist left the scene and was heard yelling "I'm going to have your job," in front of dozens of passengers and bystanders.
For many, this was the first altercation involving a Regional Transit driver of the semester, but for Hertz, it was the first she had ever witnessed.
"I can honestly say that I have never seen that in all my times riding the bus."
Sacramento Regional Transit could not be reached for comment at the publication of this blog.
- doble frijol
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
